Ryuujin
by zelda4ever
Summary: Summary: [AU] He is one of the most revered and feared assassins in the world, with a job completion record of 100 percent and a bounty of 100 million dollars on his head. What will he do when he encounters a rival—and a beautiful one at that?
1. Prologue

A/N: Hello, everyone! This is my first attempt at fanfiction, so please bear with me! The pairing is ItachiOC, so if you don't like it, don't read it, and please no flames! R&R please!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and never will. TT

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**Prologue**

The sunset was beautiful. The flaming red sun lit up the sky as it sank slowly beneath the horizon, as if trying to grab a last moment of fame before it faded. The sky was clear except for a few wisps of cloud, and at the moment it looked as if the whole sky was aflame.

He sighed, a slow escape of breath hardly even heard by himself. He was not a man who sighed easily, for sighing is a sign of weakness. Still, he hasn't seen a sunset like this for years, ever since… that day. He closed his eyes and took a sip of soda, willing the memories away. It would not do for him to remember his past at a time like this. He had a job to do, and it would be pathetic if he failed it due to some old, useless memories. Besides, it's not like the sunset means anything… right?

He stood up and tossed his soda can over his shoulder, aiming without looking at the trash bin behind the bench he was sitting on. With a _clunk_, the can fell into the already full bin, and knocked several pieces of trash out and onto the ground.

More complications. Sunset, this is your fault.

Glaring at the setting sun, he decided to leave the trash alone. Instead, he surveyed his surroundings, checking for any signs of danger.

He was at a beach, by a seaside resort, which explains the wonderful (or not-so-wonderful) sunset he had seen and is still seeing. Clear waves washed ashore, indicating there was not much pollution here. Some children could be seen playing in the sand, building sand castles with their little shovels and buckets. One quick glance decided the plastic tools did not conceal lethal weapons. He looked up and down the stretch of sand, observing the happy tourists splashing around in the ocean. They were probably all staying at the resort behind him, he figured. Best to take a look.

He walked along the beach, glancing fleetingly at every smiling face he encountered. Then his gaze went to whatever the owners of the faces held in their hands. Two brisk walks up and down the beach revealed no possible threat, but his target wasn't there either. Looks like he would have to enter the resort itself.

Two girls tugged at the sleeve of his dark red shirt. "Hey, what's your name?" one of them cooed. "Wanna come and spend some time with us?" the other winked suggestively at him.

Girls were so annoying.

"No, thank you," he said as coldly as possible, and jerked the sleeve out of their grasps. However, the girls followed him on his trek back up the beach.

"Do you stay at the resort too?" "Which garden do you stay in?" "What's your room number?" "Do you have a girlfriend?" the girls bombarded him with questions. He shut his eyes in annoyance. Normally he would have just pushed (or kicked) them away or maybe even broken their arms. But he could not afford to cause a scene here. It would jeopardize his entire mission. Luckily, one girl's cell phone rang, and after much whining on her part (it sounded like the caller was her mother), she grabbed her friend and left with a seductive wink at him.

Finally.

He continued up the beach alone and viciously glared at anyone who dared to approach him. Luckily, no one disturbed him again, and he reached the resort driveway without trouble.

At the front of the driveway he stopped. There seemed to be a line of people waiting for something. He asked an old man in his most polite voice, "Excuse me, what is this line for?"

"The tram, of course. The resort is huge; you don't expect to _walk_ all the way up to the front doors, do you?" the old man laughed genially.

He smiled slightly, then went to stand in the back of the line. He considered running to the front doors instead; God knows he'd still be faster than the _tram_, and it would provide a good warm-up. Yeah, and there goes his lie-low strategy. Best to wait for the tram instead.

After a three-minute wait and a six-minute ride, he was dropped off at the main building of the Sunrise Seaside Resort. Conscious of every female eye in the vicinity on him, he walked in the revolving doors and up to the registration counter. The girl sitting behind the counter (yes, it had to be a girl) took one look at him, and donned the most dazzling smile she could muster. "What can I do for you, sir?"

The poor girl needed a boyfriend. And not him.

"Could you please look up Mr. Clarkson's room? He said we'd be sharing his room, and he neglected to mention the room number," he politely inquired.

"Uh, I'm sorry, sir, we are not allowed to give away customer information—"

He cut her off. "We have an important business meeting here with another man, and Mr. Clarkson would _hate_ it if I didn't make it because you refused to mention his room number." He leaned over the counter and fixed his gaze on her. "Would it be so impossible to tell me? I'm not asking for a key to his room or anything; he'd let me in. Now would you please enlighten me with the information I requested, sweet lady?" His eyes glinted red, just for a moment.

"Uh, umm… uh… h-hold on a minute please," squeaked the girl, blushing furiously. She frantically searched for Mr. Clarkson on her computer. "Uh, h-here it is. Mr. C-Clarkson, Palm Garden, room 916… please d-don't tell anyone I told you this, or I'll be fired!"

He smiled sweetly at her. "Don't worry, darling. I won't tell anyone." With that, he walked away from the counter, leaving the girl very flustered and scared.

He walked through the double glass doors marked "Palm Garden," smiling on the inside. It was too easy. Look them in the eye, and they can't say no to him. He almost wished he wasn't blessed with such good looks, if only to make the task a little more challenging; not that it would make much of a difference. He could always just hack into the system instead, but he enjoyed playing around with the people he encountered. Hacking in would take away half the challenge, and the fun.

The Palm Garden wasn't named for nothing. Palm trees were everywhere, and flowers and shrubs decorated their bases. Paths lined with benches wound between the greenery and led to various facilities, such as the indoor swimming pool, the spa, the fitness room, the tennis courts, and of course, the Palm Garden main hotel complex., which consisted of nine floors, meaning Mr. Clarkson stayed at the very top.

He walked towards the building, shivering a little from the evening breezes and almost relaxing in the comforting scenery. Almost. He never made the mistake of relaxing, for that is usually when the enemy attacked. His ever-vigilant eyes swept the shadows of the trees, half-expecting an assassin to spring out and strike. He wouldn't be surprised if it happened.

Inside the building it was warm and well-lit. He took the elevator to the ninth floor. As he walked out, his feet sank into the plush carpet. Not good, he thought. Anything could be hidden in this. Scanning the floor, he walked carefully to the end of the hallway, where the door with the gleaming bronze number 16 stood. The door was made of finely polished oak of the highest quality. It would be such a waste to break it. But maybe he wouldn't need to break down the door. He pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and rang the doorbell instead, then carefully stepped out of the way of the door viewer.

Sounds came from the other side of the door. Shuffling feet, and then the soft _thud_ of a body pressing against the door, clearly trying to see out of the door viewer. Unable to find who rang the doorbell, a gruff voice came from the other side of the door. "Who is it?"

He smirked a little, and replied, "Room service!"

"I don't want room service, thank you!" with that the person inside the door made to walk away.

"But I'm sure your wife would want the room cleaned, right?" he asked in a sincere tone.

"I don't have a wife! I live just fine on my own, thank you very much! And since I'm in control of my own cleanliness, I decide I do not need room service!" the man inside yelled and moved back to the door.

He smiled to himself. He had just made sure of the number of people inside the room, which is only one: Mr. Clarkson himself.

"But sir, we received word that the previous occupant's cat had scratched and dirtied the room in various hard-to-spot places, and we would hate it if you had to live in that—"

"Fine, fine! Come on in and show me these hard-to-spot places you think I didn't find! Besides, I thought pets weren't allowed in here!" noises could be heard of Mr. Clarkson opening the door.

He allowed himself a victorious smile before the door opened. Then he pushed inside and locked the door behind him.

"Wha— I thought— aren't you room service? Where's your cart thing that you people always bring with you? Where are the fresh sheets and stuff? Where—"

"It's quite alright, Mr. Clarkson. I don't do the usual kind of room service. I'm here to clean up what the cat did, remember?" he smiled.

"Well— yes, but— how can you clean without any tools? You have nothing with you! Y-You are not room service! Who exactly are you?" Mr. Clarkson gasped. "Could it be— you're— you—"

"That would be correct," he said with a cold smile that did not reach his eyes. "Exactly, Mr. Clarkson."

In one fluid movement, he grabbed the man's left arm, twisted it behind his back, and forced him against the wall. He then took out two bandanas, one which he tied around the man's wrists and the other he stuffed in the man's mouth. Reaching down, he removed a silenced pistol from the strap on his right leg, concealed by his long pants. Embossed on the pistol was a golden dragon, extending its long body from one end of the gun to the other.

The man's eyes widened when he saw the pistol, or more accurately, the dragon on the pistol. He started to struggle and whimper, making incoherent sounds.

"Don't worry, Mr. Clarkson. I've got nothing against you. It's just my job, you see." He put the gun to the man's temple and pulled back the slide. "You can't blame a man for doing his job, can you?"

He pulled the trigger.

The gun fired, silent and deadly.

He released his hold on Mr. Clarkson, who dropped to the floor, dead.

He slipped the pistol back inside its strap, and removed the bandanas. He took a last glance around the place, making sure he did not leave behind any evidence. Of course, the fact that he "persuaded" the girl at the front counter into telling him the room would be evidence enough, but the police could not catch him by simply a description of his face and clothing, providing the girl even remembered what he looked like after all that blushing.

Searching around the room, he found the key card to the door. He opened the door and stepped out into the carpeted hallway. Sliding the card through the mechanism on the door, he locked it, and with a flick of his wrist he slid the card back under the door. Removing his gloves, he stuffed them into a special compartment on the pistol strap, and walked down the corridor as if nothing happened.

Twelve minutes later he was out the front doors of the main building, looking out at the twilight that engulfed the resort after sunset. The job didn't even take forty minutes. Smiling, he walked to the tram stop. Best to look normal and take the tram than to run down the road like a fleeing murderer.

His cell phone rang. Frowning, he answered it. Only a few people knew his number and no call from any of them meant anything good.

A few minutes later he snapped his phone shut. He was wrong; it _was_ good news, in some way. It was certainly intriguing, and he was ready for it.

He had a new job, and Uchiha Itachi _never_ fails a job.

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A/N: So that was the prologue. Please tell me if you like it so far! Next chapter will feature the OC. If you read it, please review! Click that lovely purple button! 


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay! I was on vacation, so... yeah. I updated this as soon as I can! Please forgive me!

Disclaimer: I'm tired from all the traveling... at least I got to stay in a suite in Las Vegas. I won a tiny teddy bear in Circus Circus... TT And Naruto isn't mine.

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Ch. 1: Shadows and Darkness

She slid in and out of the shadows, blending easily with the darkness. She was silent, her footsteps light as feathers. It almost seemed as though she glided instead of ran. Her silver tresses streamed out behind her, never reflecting the light. In fact, she seemed to absorb light into her body, taking its place in the world, replacing it with darkness.

She passed between buildings like the wind. Pedestrians passing on the streets gave her no notice as they headed toward their destinations. Some were laughing, some fuming, others impassive. No matter the state of their emotions, they never saw the shadow flitting between alleyways, never realized that a few feet away a young, beautiful, _deadly_ woman was on her way to finish another of her countless jobs. AKA assassinations, to use the fancy word.

Why are there so many people out on the streets at this hour, anyway? It's not as though it was perfectly safe outside. Far from it. _She_ was there. But they were safe from her for now, as she has more important things on her mind. Such as reaching her target.

It was the same every day; she'd receive a job, she'd stake out her target for a while, figure out how much security the target has, and she'd finish the job, preferably within a few hours.

Today, though, she'd taken a little more time than she would have liked. The target proved to be very evasive, weaving in and out of crowds, wandering from one place to another, and had disappeared around the corner so many times as if he knew someone was on his tail. Or maybe he was just stupid and couldn't make up his mind on where to go. Either way, she couldn't find an opportunity to do her job during the day.

At least she was able to watch the sunset while her target rested on the beach. It was amazing and… entrancing. It was rare to see a sunset like that. The sun, instead of shrinking as it disappeared, seemed to expand and fill the whole sky with its red light. Like fire, like _blood_. It wasn't until the sun had finally, reluctantly sank beneath the horizon that the man returned home, which explained her presence on the streets tonight.

Night is good, though. Night means darkness, and in darkness is how she liked the world best. Although nowadays night is hardly dark, what with all the electricity. Not to her liking at all. Too little shadow to hide in, but hide is what she must do, if she wanted to keep police from pouncing on her due to the suspicious abundance of weapons in her possession.

Oh how she wished the good old days back. She had never experienced it, but apparently one could walk down the street with a rifle in one hand and a butcher knife in the other, and no one would look at him twice. Or in this case, her. If only she could carry one of her infrared laser rifles with her, she'd never need to break into anyone's house again.

With that being said, she still enjoyed slipping through the shadows, seeing how far away from the walls can she be without being noticed. It was one of the rare things she actually enjoyed doing. The men at headquarters always tried to guess what she liked, but they never guessed _hiding_ or _sneaking_. They hated it, since they easily made mistakes, and on several occasions the mistakes were fatal. All it took for them was one step outside the shadows for someone to see; and if they were expected, as is nearly always the case, then they were in big, deep, ugly trouble.

Not her. She was different. Even if she was discovered, her quick reflexes, superb skills, and not to mention beauty, were enough to save her, in most cases. Besides, she had never been caught once yet, and she did not believe she ever will be. She was too good for that. It was like she was a woman born to live in the darkness.

As she sprinted down another alleyway, a rare smirk quirked her lips, just for a split second.

No, forget that. She _was_ the darkness.

---

An hour and a half later, she stepped into the headquarters of Shikaze. As one of the most elite criminal organizations in the world, Shikaze hired the most skilled assassins; but never had anyone in its history seen someone like her. From the day she joined the organization, she had the men swooning over her and the women throwing her dirty glances. Her beauty was the topic of discussion for both genders alike for a month.

Then she'd shown them she had other strengths beside her looks. In fact, "strength" was an understatement. In the periodic examination held by the organization, she aced everything from stealth to aim. A week later, she killed a fellow assassin whose actions she deemed were inappropriate. Not in a very clean way either. It made clear to everyone exactly how cold and heartless she was.

In three weeks, she managed to intimidate every single agent in the organization, save the boss. The boss was very happy with her indeed, although he cautioned her to be, if not nice, then at least not hostile to her fellow co-assassins. Not a single murder, or even injury happened since then, and most of the agents ceased to constantly fear her, though they were still wary. Some of the braver ones attempted to flirt with her from time to time, but their attempts were always ignored by her. It was the same with all other displays of emotion, friendly or hostile. She wore a mask void of emotions, and she rejected everyone.

As she walked into the lobby, it fell silent. Then everyone inside suddenly started talking at once, determinedly not looking at her. She was used to it; it was like their way of saying hello. A silent (towards her), noisy (attempting to sound lively and overdoing it), hushed (a futile attempt to pretend they're not talking about her), and somewhat funny hello. But she was not one to laugh at that. She never laughed at anything. Ever. Except for when she was a child, and… don't think about it.

She walked up to a counter at the other side of the room. "Report," she said coldly.

"Uh, hold on a minute please." The man on counter assistant duty today paled slightly, and with a shaking hand he handed over a clipboard with a pen.

"Thank you," she said in the same cold voice. She walked away and sat down in a comfortable armchair, preparing herself for writing another long job report. Agent code: 0189. Target code: 18471265. Status: terminated. Job duration: 14 hrs 46 min. Summary: …

Before she could start writing a full and complete job summary, she was rudely interrupted. "Hey, you took almost fifteen hours for a job? That's unusual for you. Don't you usually finish in like, two hours?"

She looked at the speaker. Ah, it's that annoying guy who somehow always managed to find something to say. He was like the only one who was not the least bit frightened of her in this organization. Well, him and the boss.

"Do I know you?" she asked.

"What? You can't remember who I am? I just told you yesterday!" he pouted. "My name's—"

"Just _why_ does a top-class assassin to behave so childishly?" another voice cut in. She looked up at the source, expecting to see some other random man vying for her attention. What she did not expect was to see one of the most important agents of Shikaze. "Uchiha?"

The man smirked at her, then turned his attention back to the still pouting man. "Agent Wakazu. Shouldn't you be doing the rounds?"

"Well, yes, but I heard she came back, so I came in to see!" he pointed at her.

She remembered something. "Wakazu… Wakazu Sukima?"

"Hai!" the man exclaimed excitedly. "Just call me Sukima-kun!"

She turned back to her report with a stony expression on her face. "No thank you. Good bye."

"Awww… fine then, see ya!" he waved happily and skipped away, making a mental note to try talking to her again later, knowing fully well he would fail. Again. It was one of those things that repeated every day.

"Still cold as ice, huh?" The man named Uchiha eased himself into another armchair near her. "Wouldn't hurt to be a little nice sometimes, _Gekkabijin-sama_."

"Mind your own business, Uchiha." She scribbled as fast as she could on the paper.

"Why do you treat everyone this way? Why not smile once in a while? You'll definitely have more friends that way." Uchiha looked at her with a teasing smile on his face. "Tons more."

Why? Because she did not need anyone. Because she knew everything was fake. Because there wasn't such a thing as friendship in the world, let alone _love_. People showed friendliness when they wanted something from you. When they wanted to _profit_ off you. She'd learned that at a young age, and at the same time learned how to hide her emotions away from everyone else. In time, she'd learned to bury those emotions altogether, only letting the rare smirk or two play on her lips. She learned to detest intimacy and stopped letting people get close to her, both physically and emotionally. Because she knew she would get hurt in the end. She would be shattered, and she wasn't sure if she could handle it once again. _Again_…

A few female agents frantically waved and screamed from the other side of the lobby. "Uchiha-sama! Over here!"

"Friends… as in like that?" she pointed at the women.

Uchiha smirked.

"No _thank_ you."

He stood and looked down at her. "Your loss, then." He made to leave.

"Why are you here?" she asked coldly. "Shouldn't you be off pretending at the FBI or CIA or whatever it was?"

"It's 12:14. In the morning. I think they might allow their agents to sleep _once_ in a while."

"Wouldn't they find out your identity if you come _here_ to rest? They don't exactly trust their agents with all their heart and faith, you know. I think they just _might_ suspect something if they see you walking into an abandoned building at, as you mentioned, 12:14 in the morning."

"Since when did you use sarcasm? That's new. I like it." He smirked.

"Consider yourself lucky. That was the first and last time you'll ever hear it out of me."

"Really?" His smirk grew wider. "Somehow I doubt it."

"Leave. I need to finish my report." She turned back to her report again.

"Hai, hai." He walked over to the women on the other side of the lobby. She heard excited squeals, then she blocked everything out. Uchiha Sasuke was invaluable to Shikaze, working as a double agent in the U.S. government. Any assassination requests on politicians were carried out by him, not to mention sneaking out top secret information. Still, it did not mean she had to be nice and polite to him.

Finally finishing the report, she looked it over for mistakes. The job, in the end, had been easy. It was just the tracking the target part that took a long time. She brought the clipboard back to the counter.

"Ah! Uh, the boss just called for you, …-san." The man mumbled her name in a tiny voice unheard by anyone but himself.

She took the phone. "Yes, boss?"

"Ah, Kisaki-chan!" She narrowed her eyes. Her boss was an over-energetic man like that Wakazu. He treated her like a little sister, and it was for the sake of her job that she did not kill him every time he called her "chan." "Kisaki-chan, Kisaki-chan…" he repeated over and over again, as if to test her limits. And those limits are being _severely_ tested. "I've got good news for you! We're getting a new member in our dear Shikaze!"

This was certainly news; but what puzzled her more was, "Why are you telling _me_ this?"

"Well, I thought you might, you know, welcome him and get him used to us! He comes tomorrow— I mean today— at 9:30 in the morning, so I thought you might show him around, introduce him with your fellow comrades, you know? Make him feel at home! And be punctual, since he's a very punctual man, and punctual people like other punctual people, and being punctual is good for your image, since punctuality—"

"You do know this is an _assassin's_ organization, right?" she cut in irritably. "We don't act like little kids having their friends over!"

"Yes, but," the boss's voice turned low and dangerous. "**You will do it, won't you? Won't you, my darling **_**Kisaki-chan?**_"

"Fine." She hung up the phone; there was no arguing with her boss when his voice became like that. Now she needed to get some sleep before this new person comes.

It was when she walked into her room at the Shikaze headquarters that she realized the boss hadn't told her the newcomer's name. How was she supposed to know who he was without his name? She needed to go call the boss and find out… or there would be confusion, lots of confusion…

She fell fast asleep on her bed.

---

The morning dawned crisp and bright— or so she thought, having no windows and all. Kisaki awakened slowly. There seemed to be something she had forgotten, but could not remember (well, she did _forget_ it). Looking down, she saw the dirty clothes she wore yesterday. Now she'd have to wash the sheets. Great.

After a quick shower, she dressed like she normally did, a black dress shirt and dark jeans. She glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand; it read 9:30. 9:30… wasn't there something she needed to do at 9:30? Something… Ugh, she couldn't remember.

She quickly ate a piece of bread and gulped down a glass of milk for breakfast. She couldn't remember, but there definitely was something. She would ask someone in the lobby— which was on the floor above hers. The entire structure was built underground, so as to avoid the obvious attention they would receive from the government.

Taking the elevator, she walked out into the lobby at 9:45 AM. The usual greeting met her (the silence, then the silent, noisy, hushed, and funny hello), but she was able to catch some intelligible conversation amid the babble.

"Hey, did you know we have a new member coming today?" one said.

"Really? Is it a he or a she?" another replied.

"A he, I think. He's supposed to be good, too. Like one of the best in the world. Like our Gekkabijin-sama. What was his name again? I can't remember…"

Kisaki suddenly remembered she was supposed to _welcome_ this new person. And _show him around_. And _make him feel at home_. And she was supposed to be _punctual_. And he comes at _9:30_.

"Shit!" she ran to the elevator again, and emerged on the topmost floor, inside an abandoned building. "I'm fifteen minutes late…"

"Seventeen." A deep, smooth voice came from the doorway of the building, where a figure stood with his back against the sun. "Are you the one who's supposed to be meeting me here?"

"I suppose," she said. "And I'm sorry for being late; I couldn't remember until two minutes ago."

"You don't look sorry. So, what's your name? Or do you not _remember_ it?" he walked inside the building towards her. Out of the sun, she could see he had long ebony hair tied into a ponytail, onyx eyes, and a lean but strong build, with a mocking smirk not unlike Uchiha Sasuke's on his lips. Dark and dangerous. She definitely did not like this man.

"No, I did not forget my name, thank you very much. It's Kisaki."

"Kisaki-san… hm? Shall we go then?"

"And what might your name be? I wouldn't want to let an agent of the FBI into the complex."

"If I was, giving my name wouldn't help much, would it? And I would think your organization should at least give my _name_ to my welcoming committee." his smirk was becoming more and more mocking by the second. More and more like Sasuke. "But just for your information, the name's Itachi."

"Uchiha Itachi."

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A/N: Another chappie done! For your information, Shikaze means 'dead wind' (I know I come up with weird names). Gekkabijin is the title everyone refers to Kisaki by, and its meaning I'll explain in the next chapter. Kisaki simply means 'queen'. If you read, please review! Reviews don't have to be essays, you know! Even one word is fine!

From the next chapter on, the story will be in Itachi's point of view. Reasons? Well, I kinda want to hide Kisaki's feelings for a while... I'll probably write a sequel in Kisaki's POV. See ya!


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry for taking a long time again! But I updated 6 days faster than last time, I think... Anyway, school is about to start for me, and I have no idea how that will affect my updates. I might even update faster, but that's not likely.

Special thanks to Aster Uchiha for editing my chapters! Thank you for taking the time!

Disclaimer: Of course Naruto is mine! Of course it is! And that's exactly why I'm posting stories here instead of publishing them in manga!

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Ch. 2: Secrets and Surprises

"But just for your information, the name's Itachi."

"Uchiha Itachi."

When I said my name, her expression remained impassive, but her silver eyebrows creased a little, as if she recognized me. Silver. It was also the color of her hair. How unusual. Under her eyebrows, a pair of golden eyes shone. Overall, she possessed a very… feline air, which was reflected in her cat-like grace. Inhuman gracefulness. Like a predator ready to pounce.

But… she recognized me. That was not good.

"You have heard of me before?" I asked, hoping the answer would be negative. _No one_ should have heard of my real name. I made sure of that.

"Well… no." I mentally breathed a sigh of relief. Wait. Did I just…? S_igh?_ Again? Che, I'm developing a bad habit.

"No, but…" she continued. "There _is_ someone with your last name in Shikaze. And you two _are_ strikingly similar. So I thought… I still think… this better not be some sort of a joke thought up by the boss." Her eyes narrowed. "Because if it is…"

I frowned. Someone with my last name? There aren't exactly many Uchihas out there. Two, to be exact. And if I'm right here, then…

"Sasuke?" I said slowly. "Is he here?"

"Uchiha Sasuke. Yes, he is here. He is one of our best, actually," she still sounded skeptical. "You… are you sure you're not him? I didn't know there was another Uchiha out there."

"No, I'm not him. I'm smart enough to know that, thank you," I replied exasperatedly. But Sasuke is here… why? After that day, I had no idea where he was. He never contacted me, but that is quite understandable, considering what… happened. I had searched for him, for a time. Then I decided to give up and focus on my own life instead. And now I'm here. And apparently he's here, too. Fate really is very amusing.

"Very well, then," she was back in her cold demeanor. "Shall we go?"

I merely nodded and followed her, too caught up in my own thoughts. Hopefully I will not meet Sasuke any time soon. After all the searching I've done, I suddenly dreaded seeing him. How would he act towards me? I don't think our meeting would go very pleasantly.

"Uchiha isn't here on most days. He works in one of the government agencies, I don't know which. His position does not allow him to return often in case he is being watched," she said unexpectedly, as if she read my thoughts. "So there's a good chance you won't be meeting him in a while." I was relieved.

I stepped in the elevator with her. It is very well disguised on the outside, and I wasn't able to see it until she emerged from it. The thin line where the doors meet is invisible, and the frame was carefully painted over to blend with the walls. On the inside, though, it looked like one that would be in a five-star hotel. Albeit one with a few extra security devices. The minute the doors closed, a panel slid back on the back wall of the elevator, revealing a small glass window and a gel pad. A second later a small drawer filled with cotton balls shot out under the glass and gel, and a fist-sized opening appeared beside it. A tile on the floor of the elevator turned red.

"Impressive," I said as she walked up to the glass pane.

"Let me guess, eye scanner?" I observed.

Her actions answered me in the affirmative. Then she pressed her hand onto the gel pad. "More effective than simply a thumbprint," she explained without prompting.

"Hmm, DNA swabs and weight sensor, right?" I eyed the remaining devices. "Well, I did expect as much from a top-class criminal organization." I crossed my arms and leaned against the doors, observing her as she went to stand on the red tile. "And what if these security measures are not met?"

"Simple: the elevator shuts down," she said as she stepped off the tile and walked towards the glass pane once more. "And if you employ, uh, drastic measures, the elevator explodes." She pressed a hidden button in between the glass and the gel pad. "Now the buttons for floors will work. Press the star, please."

"A hidden switch, huh?"

"Correct. And it changes place once a week, on Sunday. See the small square tiles on the elevator's walls? It could be behind any one of them. If you are an agent of Shikaze, you are notified of its future position every Saturday."

.I felt the elevator descend. "How many floors?"

"Technically one until the lobby, but there's enough stone left between the room and the surface for about two floors. The entire structure contains about twenty floors."

I raised an eyebrow. "An impressive feat, to construct a twenty-story building entirely underground."

"I don't know how they did it, but all they had to do was dig, so I don't think it's that impressive." The elevator stopped as she talked, and the doors opened.

In the twenty-three years of my life, I have trained myself for every situation possible, trained until I was able to keep my composure during anything, even if I was in a war with bullets raining down on me or if the earth was spitting out flames under my feet. I sincerely thanked that training now for the first time in my life. It allowed me to keep on an impassive mask while I gasped on the inside.

It was nothing like I expected it to be. In other words, it looked nothing like what it was supposed to look like — a criminal organization's headquarters. What were on my mind were more glass and steel — high-tech things. It looked more like what the inside of the elevator resembled — a five-star hotel.

The entire room seemed to shine with a golden light. Tall golden columns decorated with elaborate carvings supported the golden ceiling's weight. At the top they joined gracefully with the arched ceiling. Under my feet was a rich, colorful carpet of the finest quality. Exactly the kind that I hated, the kind that could conceal any trap. It seemed Shikaze had a few lessons to learn about acceptable harmless decoration. A pathway about fifteen feet wide stretched between the columns to the end of the hall, where a golden counter gleamed. A man sat behind the counter, busy writing something. Exactly like a hotel. Beside the pathway on both sides were armchairs of the most comfortable kind. Some were clustered around elegant mahogany tables and some were by the columns. Nearly every single one was filled. One golden wall of the room was decorated with countless masterpieces from Picasso to van Gogh. There was even _Mona Lisa_, and I doubted it to be a fake. Along the other wall was a golden counter piled with snacks and drinks.

"Not what you expected is it?" Kisaki's voice sounded beside me. "I think it's too much."

"I don't think digging was _all_ they had to do," I said slowly.

She raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Instead, she led me toward the counter at the end of the golden hall.

As we walked through the room, silence fell. Some people pointed at her, some at me, whispering to others.

"So it was him."

"The new agent."

"_Him?_ Are you serious?"

Some people looked worried, some shocked, and others simply delighted. The whispers became louder and more alike. Soon, one word was being said by all.

"Ryuujin, Dragon King."

"Ryuujin-sama."

"Fortune has smiled upon us, Ryuujin-sama."

"Unbelievable, Ryuujin-san!"

Kisaki looked at all the excited and awed faces. "This is certainly interesting. How is it that every single one of Shikaze's agents, except me, has heard of you?"

A smirk tugged on one corner of my mouth. "Maybe because you are pitifully uninformed. If you did not recognize me, you should have at least recognized my weapon."

She glanced at the pistol holder on my waist as if for the first time — which is very probable, judging by her surprised reaction. "Ryuujin… so that's why everyone recognized you, by the gold dragon."

"Obviously. Few people know my face. Most who have seen it are not alive to tell the tale. You should be more observant, Gekkabijin-san. I recognized you instantly by your dual daggers. Queen of the Night indeed."

She turned and faced forward, expression blank. I could almost see the indignation rising in her. I suppressed another smirk. It was so amusing to play with her.

Reaching the counter, she cleared her throat to announce our arrival. The poor man behind the counter jumped and nearly fainted upon seeing her. "I-I see y-you've br-brought the n-newcom-mer, K-K-Kisaki-s-sama…" the man trailed off helplessly and reached for the phone with trembling fingers. "I-I'll notify the b-boss. P-Please wait a s-second."

"Do you usually have that effect on people? I wonder how you get your jobs done," I said casually.

Taking a deep breath, she replied, "It's only the people who know me. They fear me because they think me a ruthless demon, which is very true."

"Oh really? What horrible thing did you do to induce this—" I gestured to the man— "state of trepidation?"

She was saved from answering by the man. "B-Boss will m-meet you here sh-shortly."

"Thank you." She glared at the man, venting her frustration towards me at him. The man was practically reduced to a puddle of nervous sweat by the intensity of her stare. Then she turned on her heels and walked to a nearby vacant table. "Please do sit down," she said while looking at anything but me. I sat down directly across from her. How long before she reaches boiling point?

I looked around the room. People were still discreetly staring at us. Or they thought they were discreet. Then again, my training would have been a waste if I couldn't notice their stares.

"Too much, huh?" I gestured toward the room. "I doubt I have seen a more elaborate suite. Don't you think this money could have gone to much better use elsewhere?"

"Well, I'm not the boss of this organization. This is how he wants it, and neither of us can really do anything, can we?" her gaze was on me now. It indicated how angry she was. Good.

"I didn't know the agents did not have a say in how this organization was run." It was very amusing to see how her anger was building up inside. She knew how to control her emotions well, to the point where she almost never showed them. But I also knew how to draw out those emotions. How long can that ice-cold façade of hers last?

"Sorry you weren't informed, _Ryuujin-sama_." She looked away again, trying to keep her temper under control. Almost there.

Her eyes widened. I followed her gaze, and there stood the boss of Shikaze. The agents in the room were murmuring their greetings, and he smiled back. Then he turned around to face us.

Again I was thankful for my training, which stopped me from gasping. Again. Standing before me was a man only a few years older than I, with short spiked dirty-blond hair and a huge smile on his face.

"Who said the agents had no say in how Shikaze was run? Ah, Kisaki-chan!" he bear-hugged her. A vein popped on her neck. Despite his childish actions, I sensed he was a dangerous man. This man was the boss of Shikaze. He was probably capable of wiping out an army single-handed. Not that I couldn't do the same.

"And Itachi-kun!" he prepared to bear-hug me also, but I wisely stepped out of the way. "Ahem, of course. Welcome to Shikaze, Itachi-kun! Ah, the Uchiha brothers sure are something, huh? Now that we have both of you, I'm sure we'll be more powerful than ever—"

"I do not wish for Sasuke to know I am in this organization, sir," I interrupted. "Please do not inform him in any way."

"Aww, why? You two are brothers, right? I'm sure you love each other. Besides, I have already arranged for you to have a brotherly reunion today—"

I cut him short again. "You did— what?! I—"

Before I can finish my sentence, the elevator doors opened. And out of it walked a young man of eighteen. A dark blue shirt, dark pants, and even darker hair formed his overall image. A pistol's outline could be seen in his shirt. He seemed oblivious to me, at least for now.

"Boss, you wanted to see me today? Che, it sure was hard finding some excuse that would hold up to examination. You better thank me for managing to get here, boss."

That voice. After all these years, it had matured, but I still recognized it. The same voice that screamed at me nearly ten years ago. The scream that always returned to me during my deepest and darkest nightmares.

"Boss?" he was almost at our table. Closer. Closer. Too close.

"Boss, what—" his voice died as he saw me. His expression changed from confused to shocked, and then to livid. His eyes narrowed and his mouth pulled back into a snarl. This is _not_ looking good.

"Uchiha… Itachi… you…!" He lunged at me. "You! You will pay! I… will… DESTROY YOU!!!"

For him, that is.

* * *

A/N: Another cliffie! A huge one, too (sweat drop)... Sorry about that... But it was the perfect place to end the chapter! You'll just have to find out what Sasuke does in the next chapter. I'm not a Sasuke-hater, so I won't be making him suffer much in this fic... or at least I think I won't be. But if it's for the fic's purposes, I won't hesitate to do some Sasuke-bashing. This is an ItachiOC fic, so the focus won't be on Sasuke that much. I didn't even plan to have his character in the first place... ah, poor little Sasuke. 


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry I took so long to update, and I can't really offer an excuse except for school and my laziness. Please forgive me! This one is a little longer, I think. And it should be a little less boring than the last chapters. They haven't started doing missions yet, it'll be more exciting when they do. And sorry Aster Uchiha I didn't send this one to you first! I just figured, you know, I probably shouldn't wait any longer to update, or the guilt would eat me up.

Disclaimer: I can't think of anything, so yeah, Naruto isn't mine. Goodbye.

* * *

Ch. 3. Memories and Sufferings

_Screams. Terrified screams. Eyes. Frightened eyes. Eyes staring at me. Eyes perceiving me as a monster. Horror, disgust, disbelief, and most importantly, the urge to run — all reflecting in those eyes. Eyes that once looked at me with admiration and expectance._

_More screams. Terror shaking the boy. The boy I once carried on my back. The boy who once begged me for training. The boy who now runs away from me._

_I let him go. Running as if his life depended on it. Perhaps it does. I watch him go. I do not call him back. There is no explaining. He will never understand._

_I seal my fate._

* * *

"I… will… DESTROY YOU!!!" 

I watched him charge at me His face was furious, contorted. A feral growl sounded from between his clenched teeth. He held his right fist at shoulder level, elbow bent back. His eyes blazed fire. Everyone in the room stared at him; some with shock, some with glee at a promising fight.

All this I observed in the two seconds it took him to reach our table. This boy… was unbelievable. He actually seemed to believe he could defeat me. I lazily settled into a fighting pose, ready to receive his attack and, using it against him, throw him across to the other side of the room.

What I did not expect was for the boss to simply clamp a hand on Sasuke's head when he ran by. And push him to the ground. And keep him on the ground with a foot on his back.

"I'm sorry for the interruption," the boss said, still sporting his huge grin. "I see this is the result when Sasuke meets you. I will be careful not to invite him again."

"Lhemm mnn gwfnn," said Sasuke with his head in the carpet.

"Now, now, Sasuke-kun, don't try to suffocate yourself." The boss grinned down at him. "I will let you up after our little get-together is over, so be a good boy and wait QUIETLY, please."

Sasuke somehow managed to glare up at me even from his position on the floor. I regarded him coldly, returning the favor. He never broke his gaze away from my face. I, however, returned my attention to the boss. Staring contests were for children, not professional assassins.

"So, anyway, nice to meet you. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the boss. And you've of course met Kisaki-chan here, our own Gekkabijin. And, uh, this here under my feet is, as you know, Uchiha Sasuke, our government agent," the boss said cheerfully. "He takes care of most jobs concerning the government, so I would appreciate it if you didn't kill him."

"Mmff hnnwn fwnmpff!" came from Sasuke as what I supposed were indignant remarks.

"I believe I said _quiet_," Uzumaki smiled dangerously down at Sasuke, who glared sullenly at him but said no more.

"So, Kisaki-chan, you can show Itachi-kun around the complex, if you won't mind. I'll make sure this guy here behaves." He pointed at Sasuke.

"This way," Kisaki walked off towards the center of the room without another word. It seems she had not forgotten our conversation earlier on. I glanced at Sasuke, who was still glaring at me, and followed her. A few seconds later loud outbursts of rage could be heard behind us.

To be honest, I was relieved Sasuke had been stopped by the boss. I had no doubt I would have won if I fought him, but it would mean some serious damage to him. I did not want to hurt him any more than I already have.

"So," Kisaki said stoically as she walked. "As you can see this is the lobby. All the people you see here are important agents to Shikaze, since only the most important are given quarters here. The living quarters are below the lobby, obviously."

"So all of the twenty floors previously mentioned, aside from the lobby, are living quarters?"

"Hardly. Most are living space, yes, but four floors, the four bottommost ones, are reserved for strict organization use. One is for technological development, in other words developing more weapons of destruction. One is the weaponry, containing all the weapons you have ever heard of, and some which you haven't. One floor is for the more subtle arts of annihilation, such as poisons and viruses. The last floor is… for other uses."

For other uses indeed. I wondered briefly about what it could possibly be, but brushed it aside. I would find out soon anyway. It was very unwise for them to have given this much information to a complete stranger who has not even sworn allegiance to them. Very unprofessional that it was almost suspicious. How can they be sure that I will not sell them to the government? It is either extreme stupidity or… extreme confidence.

"It is certainly rare that I come upon an organization that freely gives away information to anyone who comes asking," I ventured. "It is truly surprising, to say the least."

Kisaki smirked for the first time, even if just slightly. That smirk said, _Oh, you'll see why, and I'll be there to enjoy it._

I wouldn't exactly say my feelings remained impassive.

* * *

After a long tour of the entire structure, including all but one of the reserved levels ("No one is allowed to enter the fourth and lowest reserved level," said Kisaki), I was back before the boss, Uzumaki Naruto. It seems like the boss's smile is permanently glued onto his face. 

"So you are back, Itachi-kun!" He smiled widely. "Good, good. So what did you think of the base, eh? Did you like it? Huh? Huh?"

I carefully chose my words. "It was… certainly… interesting." In truth, the furnishings were much too ornate and extravagant for my taste. Even down in the weaponry the walls were golden and intricately decorated. I do not mind the color gold, but I rather suspect I will go blind from all the reflection after awhile. Hopefully I will be allowed to stay at my own place and not in one of the golden rooms.

"Really? That's great! You'll love living here then!" Uzumaki said energetically.

Well, so much for that.

"Let's see, you should probably be on the second floor, where Kisaki-chan stays. Kisa-chan! Show him to whatever room he likes, okay?" He gestured to the elevator. "Go rest for now, both of you. I want to see you in my office at three o'clock sharp, Kisaki-chan. As for Ita-kun, meet me here at six, okay? See ya!"

With that, he turned and walked to the elevator, assassins bowing to him all the way. This man must be infinitely stronger than he looks.

After the elevator returned, Kisaki and I took it down to the second level. We emerged into the now familiar golden hallway. She stopped in front of a gleaming golden door. A silver number indicated this was room number six.

"Look," she said. "I know you are not officially a member of Shikaze yet, but that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. If you cross me again like you did today, don't think I'll forgive you so easily." She walked off to her room. I could feel a smirk creeping onto my face. So she admits she was agitated. I really have to see what it would take to get her to burst. As for her threat, it was of no importance. In fact, I look forward to seeing exactly how she would "not forgive me." It would give me the opportunity to assess her abilities.

I opened the door to my new room. Inside everything was dark, but the light shining in from the hallway proved that everything inside was indeed golden, save a few of the decorations. I'm going to have to do something about that.

I walked inside and locked the door. Not turning on the light, I walked over and lay down on the bed. I preferred darkness for thinking.

I went over the day's events in my mind. I am in the building of Shikaze, check. I will soon be signing my contract and becoming an official member, check. I have met the boss, check. I have seriously annoyed a certain Gekkabijin, although that was not part of the agenda. Still, it made the day more interesting. I have also met my long-lost little brother, again unintended. What else? Oh yes, I had a tour of the base. That was very important, as I now have every single crack and crevice committed to memory. Everything is going well.

My cell phone rang. One short beep, one long, and another short. Right on time. I flipped it open.

"Yes… Yes, everything is going well…. No… I'm meeting him at six…. Don't worry, I've got everything under control…. They don't suspect a thing…. Later."

Yes, everything is going according to plan indeed.

* * *

I had drifted off to sleep sometime during my musings. When I awoke, I found it was already five thirty. I figured I had better get going, when— 

BAM!!!

The ceiling shook overhead. Apparently something had been slammed down in the lobby. This organization is just… incomprehensible.

When I arrived at the lobby, the cause of the noise became clear. Sasuke, as I should have known, was the cause. He had tried to slip past Uzumaki and get to me. The consequences were not exactly in his favor. Uzumaki had slammed him against the floor, _hard._ If it was not for his training, his whole body would have been shattered.

"What the hell was THAT for?" Sasuke yelled indignantly.

"Sasuke-kun, I believe I said you should be a good boy and be quiet. Which does NOT mean sneaking off to fight Itachi-kun." Uzumaki shook his finger. "Now, don't ever do that again, or don't expect to be able to move for a couple of months. Ah, Ita-kun is here!"

Sasuke, like this morning, glared up at me from the floor since he is temporarily immobilized due to that he had probably broken a few ribs. I walked right by him, purposefully ignoring the assassin.

"You wished to see me, Uzumaki-sama?"

"Naruto-kun is fine! And before we talk, let's get away from Sasuke-kun here. I have a feeling he'd be able to interrupt us even in his state."

"As you wish, Uzumaki-sama."

We walked to a far table and both sat down. He pulled a roll of papers from inside his jacket. "Well, here are some forms for you to sign, allegiance, protection, yada-yada-yada, you know, the usual stuff. But we Shikaze require something else. Do you know what that is?" He looked at me, blue eyes searching.

I kept my face impassive. "No, sir. What may that be?"

"We need more than your word and a few signatures, Itachi." He was suddenly serious. "We need real proof, proof that you won't ever betray us. Of course, there is really no way you can give us something like that, so we devised another way." His face was grim. "Don't despise us for this, Itachi. We need to do this to ensure our own survival." He snapped his fingers, and two men appeared behind me, one holding me down and the other keeping my hands behind the chair.

"An explanation would be appreciated, Uzumaki-san." I kept my voice even. "What are you doing?"

"Don't worry, Itachi-kun. It won't threaten your life in any way. Until you try to betray us, that is." A man in a white robe approached with a cart filled with medical instruments. I let out a dry chuckle when I realized what was taking place.

"You are going to put some kind of virus in me," I surmised. "Something that would destroy me from the inside out should I decide to leak out your information."

"Something like that," Uzumaki said with an impressed air. "I wonder how you figured that out. Have you encountered something like this before?"

"Something like it," I said. I did not want to elaborate. The truth is, ironically, I already have something put inside me, something that someone else had put in. But of course, they would not know.

"This would just hurt a little bit, so bear with it, okay?" The man sounded like he was talking to a three-year-old. What pain have I not endured? "Proceed," I said.

It was over in a second. The virus was injected into my right arm, lying dormant in a cell until the day it is called into action.

"Now that that's done," Uzumaki said, his smile back on. "We can sign the papers." He handed me a pen. "Go ahead."

I had signed the first two papers when it happened. A thin needle of pain started stabbing inside me, around the area where the scientist injected the virus. Coincidentally, it was also where my previous virus was injected. I ignored the pain at first, but it would not go away. In fact, it grew stronger and stronger. My arm started shaking.

"Are you okay?" Uzumaki watched me worriedly. "Something up with your arm? Maybe the guy injected it wrong. Should I call him back?"

"No," I said. By now my arm was shaking so hard that I dropped the pen I was holding. I picked it up and signed the rest of the forms with my left hand instead. What was wrong with my arm? This had not happened the previous time. I stood up, clamping my left hand over my right arm in an effort to keep it still. Now needles of pain was stabbing everywhere in the arm. "I think I'll turn in for tonight," I said through clenched teeth.

"Shouldn't I call the doctor?" Uzumaki was still worried. He finally conceded after I shook my head firmly. "Then take this. It's about your first mission." He handed me a piece of paper, which I folded and shoved into my pocket so I would not drop it, what with my shaking hand and all.

After a difficult journey, I made it to my room. Locking the door behind me with my more stable left hand, I stared at my right. Exactly what was going on? I turned on the light, temporarily oblivious to the blinding reflection off of the golden furniture. Dropping into a chair, I pulled out the sheet of paper Uzumaki gave me.

Target #18471271. Agor, Tim. Successful businessman, millionaire. Specific address unknown due to high security, but is in general area of Westchester County, New York. Watch out for heavily armed guards and advanced security systems.

P.S. Do your own research!

Uzumaki Naruto

Do my own research, huh? I can't even so much as lift my right arm right now due to the stabbing pain. Leaving the paper on the table, I walked over to the cabinets in the room. I was disappointed to find nothing in them. Didn't they have, at the very least, first-aid kits for their agents? Turning around, I saw the refrigerator. Maybe… yes! There was beer inside. I'm glad they had that much. I opened a can of beer with a shaking hand, and poured the whole thing down my throat. And another one after that, and one after that. I don't care if I would wake up with a hangover in the morning. I pretty much didn't care about anything at that point. The alcohol clashed with the blinding pain, numbing both the agony and my senses. Leaving the fridge door open, I walked unsteadily over to the bed, my head swimming. As I fell onto the covers, a fierce wave of pain washed over me, and I lost consciousness.

* * *

A brightly lit room greeted me when I woke up, forcing me to close my eyes again. My head ached. Heck, my whole body hurt. Worried, I sat up too quickly, causing my head to spin. My immediate reaction was to bring my right hand up to clutch my head, and I was especially alarmed when I could not feel my right arm. Looking down, it was still there; I just could not move it. It was like a dead weight attached to my right shoulder. How did this happen? 

Piece by piece, last night's events came back to me. I drank too much alcohol, which explained my intense headache and sensitivity to light. My arm… it started hurting after the virus was injected into me. The pain grew and grew until I passed out. I suppose my arm decided to quit on me after that.

Forcing myself into a sitting and then a standing position, I hobbled over to the table, and saw the paper that was my first mission. God, how was I supposed to do it _now_? It's impossible until my arm recovers, which it may never do.

On my way to the bathroom, I noticed the open fridge door. Did I… leave it open all night? This has to be a joke. Uzumaki would probably be all over me about the wasted food and the electrical fees. I kicked the door closed, which was a serious mistake. The force of the impact traveled through my foot and up my leg, shaking my body and making me lose my balance. Of course, I fell. And of course, the table was right behind me. The result was, I hit my head, _hard_, on the edge of the table. Another blackout was inevitable.

I was roused by loud knocks on the door. Opening my eyes, I realized I was on the floor in front of the table, right between two chairs. I just _had_ to fall between the chairs and onto the table, hadn't I?

I tried to raise my head and pain stabbed at me. Putting my still functioning left hand up, I felt something sticky and half-crusted on the back of my head. Great, blood. And the person knocking on the door was getting very impatient.

"Open the door, Uchiha Itachi, before I knock it down myself." Kisaki said in a low, deadly voice. My brain decided it would be sensible for me to get up and open the door. My body decided it would rather stay where it is. The result is, she knocked the door down.

She stared for a moment at my prone form on the carpet. Then she turned and left without a word. A few minutes later she returned with a man in a white robe like the one who gave me the injection, but this man was younger and somewhat more stoic. He walked over and knelt beside me with a cold expression on his face. My body decided it did not like this man, and stuck my left arm out to prevent him from coming nearer. The man's eyebrow twitched, but was otherwise unaffected. He simply brushed my arm away, and bent my head forward. He examined the wound on the back of my head.

"It's not serious, but should be treated nevertheless. I'm going to call over a stretcher." He released my head and left.

"So, what happened to the great Ryuujin-sama now?" Kisaki said in a condescending tone. "Decide you didn't like the furniture? Too bad it beat _you_ up, and not the other way around, isn't it?"

I decided not to answer, and instead tried to move my right arm again to no avail. Just great.

If this is what happens on my first day, I just can't wait to see what happens later.

* * *

A/N: So whadya think? I didn't even read it over when I was done... Sorry if you were expecting some kind of dramatic fight between Sasuke and Itachi... I just had to put Naruto in there. And sorry to you Sasuke fans out there that I made Naruto so much stronger than he is, I don't really have anything against Sasuke, but it was needed in the story. I think both Itachi and Naruto were kind of OOC in this chappie... and Kisaki's personality isn't really turning out like how I planned it to be either. I'm such a bad writer... So yeah, please review and tell me what you thought! Pwease! 


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: I am so so so so so so sooooooooooo sorry that it took me like three months to upload! And I told Aster Uchiha that I would update 3 chapters by Christmas day... looks like it's not gonna happen, but I'll try to finish those two chapters by the end of the week!

Just in case you were wondering, most of my inspiration for the technological aspects of this story came from Artemis Fowl. You probably already figured that out though.

And I'm sorry Aster I didn't send this to you for beta-ing, and I probably won't do so for the next two chapter either since I'm trying to update by the end of the week. I promise I'll send the chapters after that to you!

* * *

Ch. 4. Missions and Lies

I don't know when I fell asleep, but when I woke again it was in a suspiciously hospital-like room. The lights were on, and noises could be heard outside the room. I saw that I was in a hospital bed with white sheets. There were curtains around my bed, but they were not closed all the way. From what I could see, the rest of the room was white too. I was probably still in the Shikaze complex, although the colors of the room and furniture were certainly different. At least they did not use _gold_ for their medicinal facilities.

I decided I should get out of this bed and the facility as soon as possible. Personally, I did not agree with hospitals. Or more accurately, they did not agree with me. I hated the smell and the inevitable blinding whiteness of hospitals. Why do they have to be so clean? And the people, the doctors and nurses, why don't they feel uncomfortable to be in such a place? Spotless lobbies, sparkle-clean hallways, they are all reminders of how dirty and tainted I am. To be in such a _clean_ place makes me extremely uncomfortable. Hospitals are some of the bloodiest places on Earth, what with all the surgeries and transplants. While that is true, it only takes a couple of maintenance workers and a few mops to make hospitals seem like the cleanest places on the planet. If only it was that easy to hide the stains, the blood. If only.

It was when I was off the bed that I remembered my arm. It was dead just a couple of hours ago, but now it seems fine. I flexed my fingers. They worked perfectly well. I did not feel any pain or discomfort. That was strange.

I opened the door and stepped out into the golden hallway, with no windows. I was definitely still in headquarters.

People in white lab coats hurried by, some pushing carts and others carrying papers. No one seemed to care that a patient of theirs had left his room and is now wandering the hallways. All the more convenient.

I wandered along the corridor. I remembered this place from the tour of the building, but ahead I saw a dark opening which, if I remembered correctly, Kisaki did not lead me into, which pretty much told me it was some sort of secret facility and off-limits. Which of course meant I would do some exploring. But before I could head into it, I was stopped by someone. A somewhat familiar someone.

"Where do you think you are going?" he asked in a cold voice. I suddenly remembered that this was the white-robed person who called for the stretcher this morning. Or maybe yesterday morning, depending on how long I slept.

"I see your wound is almost healed," he said. His long dark brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he had silver eyes. Silver eyes with no pupils, which made them seem somewhat unfocused and permanently glaring. Strange. I have only seen eyes like that on one other person before. "You are lucky," he continued. "Not many can be up and about after only four hours with a wound like that. While it is not serious, head wounds take a long time to heal."

"Thank you," I said. Just go away and keep doing whatever you were doing.

"Why are you here?" he asked. His eyes flickered to the opening in the corridor, then looked suspiciously back at me.

"Exploring," I said as innocently as I can.

"Exploring is unnecessary," he said with a creased eyebrow. "That area," he pointed at the opening, "is off-limits to all without a pass. And don't think about getting a pass, since you're not a scientist."

"Understood," I said. I really need to get that pass. Stealing one should not be a problem since only scientists are around here. I just need to wait for someone to come by, then knock them out and take their pass—

"And regular agents are not allowed in the medical floor for anything except illnesses and injuries. If you are caught down here for something else other than those two reasons, you will be in very serious trouble."

"Right." There goes that plan. Well, it's only my second day, and I'll have plenty of chances later. "Thank you for treating my wound, sir. I'll be heading back to my room." I could feel his eyes on me all the way to the elevator. He'll probably be watching for anyone near that corridor now. Just my luck.

* * *

After returning to my room and finding my hand still in perfect order, I decided to research this Mr. Tim Agor, my next, or should I say my first, mission. There was a laptop in every agent's room, but I preferred using my own. Of course it was scanned when I brought it in the building, and of course they found nothing suspicious.

It turned out that researching Mr. Agor was very difficult. Like Uzumaki said, there was not much information about this man. He was a millionaire and a successful business man, which means that the lack of information online had only one excuse: he removed them. I found a map of Westchester County, but his address is still very obscure. There are too many spaces on which could be estates. Even satellite images did not help, since it is practically impossible to tell one roof from another. After painstakingly comparing different maps and photos, I narrowed the possible locations of the estate down to three. Unfortunately, these three places are very far apart from each other, which meant I would have to travel more. Well, Shikaze would take care of all the costs.

Going to Westchester had another advantage: I had an acquaintance in New York City who specializes in poisons and drugs. I would have him take a look at my arm and see what the hell is up with it.

I lingered around base for a few more days, packing and getting the money I needed (which came in a shiny gold credit card). I also used this time to familiarize myself with the agents and their way of life. Apparently, the rule of thumb in Shikaze is that one must always obey the boss. Despite their cocky and sometimes hostile attitudes, no one dared to say a word against Uzumaki Naruto. I decided that after seeing what he did to Sasuke, I'd better obey this rule too.

The strange thing is, I have not seen Kisaki at all after the first night. No one seemed to want to speak of her, and those who did told me it was better to stay out of her business. I guess she had another mission, but why do I care anyway?

Sasuke, doing what he was told for once, stayed away from me. I could always see him out of the corner of my eye, waiting for the second I did something out of line so he could pounce on me. The kid just never learns.

Finally, everything was ready, and I was more than ready to breathe some fresh air. It was amazing what a couple of days living underground could do to a person. Even though there were air filters, it just wasn't the same as aboveground air. I could not believe that some of the agents stayed underground their whole lives. They must be agoraphobic or something.

Taking the elevator up, I exited the run-down building. From the outside it was a normal old structure, battered by nature and ready to be brought down. It was this that prevented people from seeing its true self: a façade for a criminal organization. Walking around to the back of the building, I searched for the marker. The marker was supposed to be a rock shaped like a fish which was… not there. Curse these pig-headed agents.

I breathed out slowly. They told me it would be near a tall pine tree. There were only two in the area, so I searched under both. The stone turned out to be buried under two feet of pine needles. I appreciate their thought of concealing it from enemy eyes, but I need to mention to them later that it was unfortunately also concealed from friendly eyes.

I picked up the stone. Sure enough, there was a thin wire connected to the underside of it and ran into the ground. I pulled on it three times, and heard the satisfying rumble of earth sliding open. The ground in front of me had split open into a rectangular hole, and a shiny black Porsche with blacked-out windows rose up on a platform. So, Shikaze's agents traveled in style.

I drove the car to the nearest airport, which was the MCI Airport. The black Porsche naturally drew envious looks from the crowd, and I decided that although I liked the car, next time I would take something much less conspicuous.

Once inside the airport, I headed for Terminal B, whose gates were mostly manned by Shikaze agents. It seemed like they have gotten the notice that one of the agents was leaving, because the man at the gate just waved me through. He did not even ask for my ID. Was I that recognizable? I might have to do something about that.

* * *

When I arrived at White Plains Airport, there was another black Porsche waiting for me. Again, I reminded myself to have a talk with whoever is in charge of transportation once I got back. These cars were just… not suitable for the whole lie-low-and-try-not-to-be-discovered plan. Nevertheless I got in the car and drove to the first of my selected locations on the map.

At first glance I knew this was not the one. It was a nice house and all, but there was much too little security for someone paranoid enough to remove all of his information from the internet. There were not even guards. One down, two to go.

The next location yielded a highly secured house. Guards with dogs paced in front of it, and the gates and walls seemed to be covered in electrical wire. I could see some motion sensors as well. This could be the one, but I went to check the third location just in case. I knew immediately that it was the second location; the third one was just open space. All right then, time to figure out how to break in.

For two days and two nights I stalked the house. The house across from it seemed to be empty, the owners gone on vacation, so I parked the Porsche in their driveway to avoid suspicion. From what I could surmise in that time, the house seemed pretty much impenetrable. The guards were always pacing, changing shifts every hour on the hour. The lights on the sensors were always blinking, so they were in perfect working condition. I have seen Mr. Agor leave the house once, but he was very far away and I could not see his face. He left in a black limo with tinted windows and the guards flanked him every step of the way to the car. It was the same when he came back. To top it off, the security did not loosen up one bit when he was gone. In fact, it became even tighter. I did not see his wife or any children, so he was probably living alone. No possible hostages.

This won't do. I have to find a way in even if there was none. It would be very embarrassing to fail your first job, not to mention it would blot my record. I, Uchiha Itachi, cannot and will not fail a job. I have never done so and I never plan to do so. I'll kill the target even if I have to ram straight through the security. What's more, I saw a blue BMW convertible yesterday. Those were probably common around here, but the silver hair I glimpsed in it (despite the tinted windows) certainly was not. So, little Kisaki had come to town. As far as I know, she could have the same target as me. Which meant it was very important that I finish the task before she did.

I exited the car at midnight in full assassin gear. Closing the door quietly behind me, I hid behind trees and other objects as I approached the house. One good thing: there were no lights behind me, so the guards cannot see me as easily as I can see them.

One sole light was on in the house, in what I supposed was either Mr. Agor's study or bedroom. It could not be the living room as it was on the third floor. I remembered the room's location for later examination.

As I approached the driveway, something glinted in one of the trees. A camera, I guessed. Good, I would not have to go far in. After looking around for other cameras, I climbed up the tree in the camera's blind spot and found the tiny lens. Its attached wire ran down the length of the trunk and then along the ground. I wound a piece of cable around it; this would allow me to enter the camera system, pinpoint the location of every camera in the house, and feed them false tape if necessary. When I was about to leave, I saw another piece of familiar cable around this camera. Kisaki had gotten here before I did, huh? The same thing was true for the motion sensors. Apparently we think the same way, or maybe this was just standard procedure for all Shikaze agents. I'm not so sure our next steps would be the same, though. And I was right.

At six o'clock the next morning, I saw Kisaki walk up the driveway in full view of the cameras. I felt a smirk tugging at my lips as I pulled on rubber gloves. Perfect. Thank you, Kisaki, for providing the necessary distraction I needed. Maybe I could fool the cameras, but I could not deceive live humans. Unless they were not paying attention to me.

I quickly crossed the street and hid behind one of the trees. My pattern is wiped from the cameras, and the motions sensors inside the forest were disabled. The crucial moment of action is when the guards at the gate noticed Kisaki, which is—now!

As the guards began running toward her, I slipped between the trees, thankful that the driveway was practically surrounded by a forest. Mr. Agor may have the most advanced security measures on planet Earth, but he ignored nature. And that always got people into trouble.

The trees provided perfect cover until I was close to the house. I had to break in from the front, since only the front guards were gone from their positions. I had no doubt that the moment I broke a window the alarms would sound, so I opted for a different way. There were plenty of AC chutes, albeit watched by cameras. Since my pattern was wiped, that really didn't matter.

I found the closest AC chute opening near one of the windows as I knew it would be. Time is of the essence, since the guards could turn around at any moment. I quickly unscrewed the cover and climbed in, sliding it back into place behind me. One would think that people would pay more attention to the AC openings after all those movies, but I guess not.

According to the cameras, there would be a branch in the chute about ten yards in. That branch would lead to another chute, straight up into the third floor. I moved as quickly as I can, and in no time I was looking down at Mr. Agor sitting at his desk from an opening in the ceiling. Loud opera music was blasting from speakers somewhere in the room, and his eyes were closed. Perfect.

I quietly unscrewed the cover of the opening and placed it back in the chute. Then, I dropped from the ceiling and had stuffed a piece of cloth into the man's mouth before he knew what was happening. I tied his hands behind the chair and his feet to the chair's legs, and pulled out my pistol from its holder. The man's eyes widened in fear as he saw I raise the gun to his temple, and he fervently jerked at his bonds.

"Just my job," I said, and had almost pulled the trigger when he squeaked out what seemed to be "Ryuujin-sama" in a heavily muffled voice. Intrigued, I kept the gun barrel at his temple. "I will remove the cloth. If you attempt to scream, I will shoot you. Understood?" The man jerked his head up and down, and I pulled out the saliva-covered cloth from his mouth.

"Ryuujin-sama!" the man said at once. "Don't you remember me? We're on the same side! I'm the financial advisor, remember? I took care of the money! Ryuujin-sama!"

I narrowed my eyes at the man. He did look somewhat familiar… maybe he was right, but this was my job. I can_not_ fail this job. But I can use this to my advantage.

"Tim," I called him by his first name. "Yes, I remember you. And now that I do, I cannot kill you." The man's face was filled with relief. "However, I broke into the house, and I need a safe guarantee out. If you can tell your guards that I am a friend and I should be let out safely, I will let you live."

The man nodded feverishly. "Of course, Ryuujin-sama! Right away! Er… could you hand me the phone on my desk please?"

"I will dial the number," I said. "I cannot risk unbinding you yet."

"All right," said the man, quick to agree. "The speed dial is 4."

I pressed four, hit Send, and held the phone at Mr. Agor's ear. The guard picked up. "Mr. Agor? I was just going to call you. You have a visitor from a company—"

"Tell them to come back later, I don't feel like meeting them right now. In fact, I have a visitor here, Mr—" he looked at me. "Gregory," I mouthed. I had to give the man credit for keeping his voice even and calm, even when his life was on the line. "Mr Gregory," he continued. "He will leave right now.… What? Oh, it was because I did not wish for anyone to know he was here, so I turned off the cameras… That doesn't matter right now. He will leave now, so do not bother him when he comes out."

"Yes sir," replied the guard. I took the phone away from Agor's ear and pressed End. "So—so will you free me now?" he asked hopefully.

"No, your guards will do that once they discover you cannot leave your room. It will be pointless to have them chase me down, as I will be long gone by then." I stuffed the cloth back in his mouth and walked to the door. "Thank you very much, Mr. Agor." In the blink of an eye, I turned and shot him in the head. Tucking the pistol back in its detector-proof holder, I left the house through the front door.

* * *

I returned to the car at 7:30 in the morning. I pulled out of the driveway and just as I was about to turn onto the street, I saw Kisaki on the opposite side of the road. Her face was a marvel; she was trying very hard to keep an impassive expression, but I could see her fury twisting out beneath her mask. If she was in a cartoon, there would be steam coming out of her ears. I flashed my best evil smirk at her and drove away to the airport. Looks like I won this one. The question was, why did she waltz up to the guards after putting in the cable and everything? She could have done what I did, so why didn't she do so?

My cell phone's screen flashed: new text message. At the red light I stopped and read the message. It said: **Agor, financial advisor, dead.** The sender is Unavailable. I smirked. I have nothing against them; it's just my job, that's all.

* * *

A/N: was that a little bit less boring than the previous chapters? I hope so. And I know my verb tenses do not agree at all, I sometimes use the present and sometimes the past. I hope the break-in scene wasn't too unrealistic, I know it's not that easy to break into someone's house. well, this is fiction. fanfiction, actually, so please don't flame about how fake it was! and Review please! Press that purple button! 


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: I know I said I would update by the end of the week, but you all know by now how my promises work out. Anyway, Monday can sort of be included in last week, right? And I'm sorry it's only one chapter. I know I said two, but... well, you know.

I sort of feel sorry for Sasuke because he's always an extra. Kishimoto-sensei wasn't planning to include him in Naruto, and he was just added at the last minute. I wasn't really planning to have him in the story either, but my planning never works out the way it was supposed to. And what's an Itachi fic without Sasuke, right? Actually Sasuke isn't in this chapter at all, but I just wanted to put that comment out tehre.

And I changed the chapter names in the purple pull-down menu thingy at the top right corner of the window. I'm really tired of typing the chapter name over and over again, so from now on you'll find it in the story.

And I forgot to put the disclaimer in teh last chapter, so here it is:

Disclaimer: I know what you're thinking, but no, no, no, no, and no.

* * *

Ch. 5: Confrontations and Competitions

When I arrived at the LaGuardia Airport in New York City it was bustling with noise; adults and kids alike ran around, shouting, laughing. My acquaintance works in the pharmacy of this airport, which is a feat in itself. How he manages to get all the illegal equipment and drugs in here I have no idea. I could do it if I absolutely had to, but to do so day after day for who knows how many years is a daunting task that I would never even consider. The danger involved is tremendous.

I entered the pharmacy. In all appearances it was an innocent little shop, decorated with children-friendly stuffed animals and painted in welcoming colors. Said acquaintance was sitting behind the counter, presumably reading a book. He was of middle-age and had silver hair, which I now realized was similar to Kisaki's, though they are of different shades. A mask permanently covered his lower face and a headband covered his left eye, which was damaged in a battle. And of course, that book. I will never understand why anyone in the world would want to read it. I cleared my throat.

"Oh, good morning, sir— oh," he said as he noticed me. "Well long time no see, old friend! What are you up to now?"

"I need you to look at something," I said. It was almost impossible to detect, but it's there, the security camera. It was supposed to be for the good of the pharmacy, but it was really just a hindrance for us. As if someone could steal something under _his_ watch.

"Come on back." He put a "momentarily unavailable" sign on the counter and opened a door. I followed him through. It was still innocent looking, a little storage room stacked high with medical equipment. Until someone presses a button and half of it disappears.

"You've added to the hologram," I said. Now one could actually feel the nonexistent equipment. Of course one would discover the illusion when one tried to take something off the shelves, but until then, the hologram looked and felt real.

"My goodness, Uchiha," the man shook his head. "It's been, what, three years since you've last been here. Of course I upgraded. And this isn't even the newest model. I hear they developed one where you can actually take things off and open them." He went to the wall previously covered by the hologram and pressed a section. With a hiss, the wall split apart in the middle and revealed a dark room beyond.

"Come on," he said as we entered the room and he turned on the lights. "What do you think?" he asked as the walled closed behind us.

"I think you take many unnecessary risks," I replied coolly. The room was stocked with the latest weaponry and illegal drugs, for medicinal use and otherwise. A gleaming rectangular steel table stood in the middle of the room, half-covered with a white hospital sheet. The sheet was folded back on itself and seemed very lumpy. "What's under there?" I asked.

He grimaced. "You don't want to know. Now what did you want to see me about?" He pulled over two stools and sat down on one.

I sat on the other and explained the arm incident to him, leaving out the part about Shikaze, of course. His right eyebrow, the only one visible, rose as he listened to my narrative.

"So this is because of the injection of a virus?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Interesting. Why you ever let them inject it in the first place is beyond me, but let me look at your arm."

After examining my arm, he led me to another room where he took some X-ray scans. He looked at these over a cup of coffee. I was getting very impatient. I needed to get back to Shikaze soon or they may suspect something.

"If you wouldn't mind, Kakashi-san, please be a little faster in your examination. I do not have all day." I continued in an indifferent voice. "Of course, if you insist on taking your time, I could always let you rest in peace and taking the scans to someone else—"

"There is no need for that, my dear Uchiha-san," he replied quickly. "I see nothing wrong with these scans."

"Of course you see nothing wrong with the scans. They are made by one of the best machines in its field in the world, after all. What I would like to know is if there is something wrong with my _arm_."

"Ah, pardon me. That is what I meant to say. See, you should not rush me. No, I don't think there is anything wrong with your arm. I see nothing here."

"Thank you very much." I left the room without another word. Behind me, I could hear him breathing a sigh of relief. After all, no matter how good of a smuggler and fighter he was, I was still the most feared assassin in the world. I could have killed him with a hundred different ways without giving him enough time to realize what's going on, let alone retaliate. It was good, for his future health, that he realized this in time.

* * *

I left the shiny black Porsche outside of headquarters, where I received it in the morning. I could hear the creaking noises as the ground split open to receive the car. 

I went up to the counter after I arrived in the main hall and filled out my mission report. When I gave the clipboard back to the man behind the counter, he looked surprised.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's just… Kisaki-sama had filled out the exact same mission report earlier, only she wrote 'failed' instead of 'succeeded.'"

"Oh?" So she _had_ been assigned the same mission as I. That Uzumaki.

"I think, Ryuujin-sama, it's best if you don't approach her right now. She's been in a bad mood ever since she got back. She tries to hide it, but we could see she was really angry."

"Thank you," I said as I left the counter. I'd better follow his advice. She would probably tear me to pieces now that we were back in safe territory. I saw the restrained anger in her eyes this morning, and who knows what would happen if she let that anger loose. And it didn't help that my room was on the same floor as hers.

I checked my mailbox and found a new mission assignment. Does this organization work their agents to death or something? I just got back from one mission and here comes the next. Oh well, I suppose I should look it over once I get back to… my room… What is wrong with me? I should _NOT_ be hesitating to go back to my room. So what if Kisaki's room was on the same floor? Why should I avoid meeting her?

Well, because women are usually _very_ annoying when they are mad. They seem to think they can actually fight me like equals. If there is one thing I would never get, it's women.

Nevertheless, I took the elevator down to the second floor. By some small miracle, I made it to my room without incident. Slightly relieved (because I would not have to deal with a furious female), I opened my door.

"Hello, Uchiha Itachi."

Great, I had time to think. And then she threw a punch at me so fast that I only barely dodged it.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed at her.

She did not answer my question, at least not directly. "Thank you so much for taking advantage of _my_ tactic and killing _my_ target. I don't forget kindnesses easily, so I absolutely _must_ reward you with something." Her tone sounded genuinely happy, but her eyes glared cold fire. She punched me again, but this time I caught her wrist, centimeters from my face.

"That's quite alright." I aimed a hit at her head with my free hand, but she caught me with her other hand. We were now locked in an awkward hitting position, both with one hand caught and one hand holding the other's caught hand. This meant…

We kicked upwards with our right legs at the same time, and then both avoided each other's kick by flinging ourselves sideways, letting go of each other's arm. I flipped through the air and landed a few feet away in a crouching position. She did the same, and we now faced each other in the hallway, with my open door to one side and the golden wall to the other.

I straightened up first. "We had similar training." I gave a small smirk.

"So it seems," she said as she also stood up. I noticed for the first time that her silver hair was bound in a high ponytail, probably to keep it out of her way. Silver… it reminded me of Kakashi's hair. Why did people these days bleach their hair into such noticeable colors?

"Now, now, what is happening here?" Uzumaki followed his voice around the corner. "My, my, why are you two fighting?"

Good, I was just about to go look for him. I started to speak, but Kisaki's voice cut in.

"Boss, why did you give him the same mission as I?" she said viciously. "Targets were supposed to be for one agent and one agent only, weren't they?"

"My, my, Kisaki-chan." Uzumaki shook his head. "Since when were you one to openly display emotion?" Her eyes widened, and she immediately slipped back into her blank mask. It was as if she did not realize that she was showing her anger.

"Well," Uzumaki began, "you two are the most renowned assassins in the world. I wanted to compare your abilities and, well, see who is better, I guess."

"So," I said with a small smirk, "I guess I am the better one." I glanced at Kisaki. Her expression remained composed, but her hands balled into fists.

"We'll see. That was just a little warm-up. Easy. Did you two get your new missions?" Uzumaki asked.

"Yes," Kisaki and I answered at the same time. Did I imagine that quick glare she sent me?

"Good. Now look at it please."

I pulled the paper out of my pocket. Now that I was really paying attention to it, I could see it was rather covered in words. Across from me, Kisaki frowned slightly.

"Rather long mission, isn't it?" I asked Uzumaki.

"Well, I would say that this is the ultimate test for you two. Go ahead and read it over. Then ask all the questions you want."

I frowned as I read the paper, and I could see Kisaki doing the same. For a moment her eyes met mine, and she seemed to challenge me. _You ask_, her eyes said.

I looked at Uzumaki, who was humming a song and looking appreciatively at the ceiling (which was set with lights of many shapes, forming an intricate mosaic). Should I ask? But there must be a reason as to why the target's name was not mentioned even once on the paper…

"So," Uzumaki suddenly said. "By now you must have realized that you were not given your target's name. This is part of the test, of course, to see whether you can figure it out. But this is also a precaution. This mission request was given to us just a few days ago, and it would be an extremely dangerous one. It would be safer for all of us if the target's name was not mentioned anywhere." He looked serious for once, so I assumed that this mission was just about the most dangerous one in the world. No wonder he gave it to the two best agents in existence. Test indeed. He was just making sure that the mission would be done even if one of us failed.

"Am I correct in assuming that this target is a very important someone?" Kisaki asked.

"_Very_ important," Uzumaki confirmed. "If you read the request carefully enough you would be able to discover who the target is, if you can't guess already. And I have already replied that we will take the mission. Now, go to work!" He reassumed his happy demeanor and walked away.

"Listen, I may have lost this time—" Kisaki was glaring at me again— "but it doesn't mean you've won. I will complete this mission, and you will enjoy failure." With that she turned and walked away.

Smiling to myself, I entered my room and closed the door. I have no intention of marring my perfect record. If she wanted this to be a contest, so it will be. But I will not be the one to weep afterwards. Figuratively speaking, of course.

* * *

Once in my room, I read the mission request more closely. It said: 

**To whom it may concern,**

**My request is for someone to be assassinated, as you well know. This someone will be heavily guarded, making this mission very dangerous. Therefore, I have included a check of $1,500,000 as an incentive for you to even consider this mission. Once it is completed I will send another check of double the amount to you, and also the password required to be able to use the checks. Please send word of either your acceptance or rejection. If you accept this mission and it is not done within sixty days, I will not give you the password and the check will become null. If you decide to refuse the mission, you will not receive the password and the same thing happens..**

**The person I request to be assassinated has committed many crimes, too many for him to be still alive and smiling. I will call this person "it" to avoid suspicion lest this letter is caught. It is greedy and stupid. Getting rid of it would do this world a favor.**

**Now, read very carefully. I have not given you many clues as to who it is. But one thing I can guarantee you. It will be at Senator Raymond's 50****th**** birthday party next week. This, I think, will be your one chance to assassinate it. You may not get another chance like this again for many months, and by then my check will be nothing to you.**

**I know there will be many people there, and the area will be heavily guarded. To help you distinguish it from the rest, I will give you the following clues:**

**It is of middle height and blond.**

**It enjoys lemon pie.**

**It will be asked to deliver a speech.**

**Hopefully this would be enough for you to realize who "it" is. I will be waiting to hear from you.**

**Anonymous**

I smirked slightly. And here I was thinking I would have to kill God himself. Looks like it won't be half as hard. The hardest part will be getting away after the deed is done, not performing the assassination itself. As for the identity of the target, the answer was clear as the sky after a thunderstorm. All the little clues and hints could only add up to one thing, and the lemon pie comment was a dead giveaway. But perhaps that was just because I am already acquainted with him.

The President of the United States.

* * *

A/N: The plot gets thicker... or maybe it's just me. I'm horrible at planning out events beforehand. By now you're probably curious as to how the hell does Itachi know all these people. Well, 1. he's Itachi, and 2. I'm not gonna tell you.

I hope you people out there aren't offended by the president thing. I'm not planning to use the current president, or Bush, in my story. (even though I still don't really like him, but for you people's benefit I won't do any Bush-bashing) I'll use someone else from Naruto. hmm, I wonder who I should use? review and give me some suggestions of who you hate the most in Naruto! Review!


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm soooooo sorry guys, I know I haven't updated in like 5 months. It wasn't even because of a writer's block or anything. I did have homework, but not all the time. I guess the only excuse would be that I was pretty lazy. Not that that's even an excuse. Anyway, sorry! But this one's here. It's not really all that exciting, but it leads into the next chapter and all that'll happen in it :) I'll TRY to have the next one up soon... sooner than 5 months, hopefully...

Thanks to AsterUchiha for beta-ing! I decided to put everything in the past tense, so I left out some of your corrections. I really do suck at grammar, don't I? When I went back and look at it, every other paragraph was a different tense. TT

Disclaimer: Naruto is mine! And no one died in the recent China earthquake! And all the countries coexist so peacefully I could cry!

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Ch. 6. The Silence before the Storm

The fact that the target was the president Danzo himself did not disturb me in any way whatsoever. In my encounters with the man, I had concluded that he was old, despicable, and seemed to exist to make others miserable. I did not know how this country could have ever elected him as president, but whoever had voted for him in the elections should be properly ashamed of themselves. He ran all sorts of secret operations behind the country's back, and no one (well, except for a few, like me) ever noticed. Not that I held any allegiances to this country, in fact I didn't, but even I couldn't stand some of the things he had done to his poor citizens.

The first time I met him was the summer of last year. He himself had approached me, saying he wanted a meeting. Since he was the president of the U.S., I knew whatever mission he wanted to give me would not be easy, and the pay would be big; so I told him yes and went to meet him.

It turned out that he wanted me to follow his wife for two months. Apparently she was having an affair, and he wanted me to kill whoever was her secret love. It was a pretty degrading job, but he offered 1 million, and in exchange told me to never, ever tell anyone about this. If I did, he would send someone out to kill me. Funny, since he chose me to follow his wife in the first place because I was the best one there is. I'd like to see who he can conjure up to kill _me_.

But nevertheless, I took the job. And so followed the two most boring months of my career. And the most boring part? She didn't even _have_ an affair. All the secret meetings she'd been having were with her brother, whom Danzo seemed to passionately hate. She didn't want him to know she was meeting with her brother, since subjects of Danzo's hate usually wound up dead. It was all she could do to keep Danzo from finding him.

Figures.

Well, it seemed like that boring job would finally pay off. I came to know Danzo very well as I made my regular reports to him (while I was following his wife around), and I thought he still could at least recognize my face, which was what I would be counting on.

So, one week to come up with a plan, huh? As I already said, the getting in part would be easy. I already have that part planned out. But getting back out would be hard, especially since a dead president would cause a pretty big alarm. I'd have to keep him from being found, at least until I have made my exit.

And then there's the assassination itself. It shouldn't be hard, except for the fact that I will not be able to bring a weapon to the party. My pistol case could fool metal detectors, but they would have much more advanced security systems than that. No doubt they would perform a body search, along with other things. So how should I do this?

I mulled over the plan for the next hour. By the end of it, I had most of it down. I could bring Danzo into the senator's house (the party is in his garden). After I kill him, I could wrap him in a sheet from a bed, then hide him in the closet. He himself would tell others not to follow us. No one would find him until they realize he was missing, which probably would be after the party was over. I smiled to myself. Danzo never liked bodyguards, and his temper alone was enough to keep them from trying too hard to protect him. He went about without them most of the time. They would surely stay outside if he told them to. Because he wouldn't want others to see us, he'd probably turn off the cameras in the house too, if there were any.

The one complication of the plan was Kisaki. I did not know what she had in mind for her assassination attempt, but surely she would not just sit back and let me kill him. I could not let her get to him first, so I would have to watch out for her. Perhaps… I could even use her in my plan. It would piss her off, and probably provide me with a cover. Two birds with one stone.

I raised my right hand in front of my face. It hadn't hurt once since the day I woke up in the hospital section. Maybe there really was nothing to worry about. But why was I even worrying in the first place? Kakashi said there was nothing wrong, and he was the best man in the field.

One week, huh? I was ready for it to be today. But not before I had my dinner.

--

"Are you sure?" asked the man sitting at the desk, his face obscured by shadows. The Paris skyline was just visible through the sole window in the wall. "Because if you are wrong, you will be in serious trouble."

"I'm not completely sure, sir, but all the evidence point to him," said another man in the room, standing before the desk. There was a hint of trepidation in his voice, and he shuffled his feet nervously; clearly he was scared of the man at the desk. "The bullet size and shape, the wound position, everything. The cable is even of our issue."

The man at the desk was silent for awhile. He folded his hands in front of him, and a frown creased his brow. "If this is true, then we are talking serious breaching of our code. He must have seen the man's face. He would have recognized him. And this means he performed the deed knowing who he was killing. He knew he was breaking our law."

"Yes, sir," the man standing quickly agreed. "He did this knowing the consequences, sir."

"Which makes it even more serious. It looks like he doesn't have any respect for us anymore, even though he is still officially one of us. We will have to punish him." A dark smile twisted his mouth, giving the man a sinister look. "Remind him of who he is."

"Yes, of course, sir." The nervous man was relieved that his boss finally believed him. "We will punish him, sir."

"Stop repeating what I say, fool. Even with what he has done, he is still more valuable to us than you are. We cannot punish him too much, just give him a warning. If he ever does this again, we will punish him for real." The man stood up and left the room, leaving the other trembling behind him. _No matter where you are, you are still one of us, Uchiha Itachi. You should not cross us. Next time we won't let you off so easily. Not that we will let you off this time._

"Notify him," the man called over his shoulder to the man still standing in the room. "The one in hiding because of that Danzo. It's time for him to come out."

--

One day to go until the big party. Senator Raymond has his house in California, so I would have to fly in today and do a little reconnaissance. Kisaki had left yesterday; I would have too if I hadn't remembered I wanted a word with the transportation department. They said they'd have to rearrange everything, which would take almost a day. So I waited.

At least the result was good. They said there would be a five-year-old red Ford Mustang waiting at the Los Angeles airport. Meanwhile, I would have to do with the black Porsche (or, as I discovered, a yellow Ferrari; the car changes every time, always fancy) for the ride to the airport.

I drove to the MCI Airport without incident. When I boarded the plane, though, I received a curious text message. The sender was the familiar Unavailable. It read: **Presence required at the second-floor bedroom across from the stairs of the house of Senator Raymond, next day at 9 p.m. Make sure no one follows you.**

Interesting. I didn't know what he would want me there for, but then again, he wasn't even in this country, was he? The last time I checked he was still in Europe. Nevertheless, I will go to this meeting, which would cut my time short. The party starts at seven, so I would only have two hours to kill Danzo and hide him, and not to mention my escape would be delayed. But it's not like I had a choice, anyway. Consequences could be dire if I ignored this message.

Once the plane was in the air, I called Danzo, using the phone number from when he hired me. The phone rang for what seemed like ages, but finally he picked up. (A/N: I don't know about the actual president, but I am assuming here that he has a private cell phone)

"Hello?" a gruff old voice answered. I smiled.

"This is Uchiha Itachi. I daresay you remember me?"

A pause. "What do you want?"

"I would like to request a service of you. With compensation, of course."

"A service? Why should I do you a service? We have nothing more to do with each other. I paid you for your work."

"Yes, I know, Danzo-sama. But I have some valuable information for you, information which will entice you to gladly perform said service."

"Really?" he snorted. "Let's hear it then."

"I know where your wife's brother is."

Silence.

"WHAT?? YOU DO?? WHERE IS HE??" he shouted at the top of his lungs. I can hear his wife asking him what was wrong on the other line. "SHUT UP!!" he yelled at his wife.

"He will be at the party," I said calmly. "Which is why I ask a service of you. I have been hired to kill him. Unfortunately I will not be able to bring a weapon. I do not necessarily need a weapon to kill, but physical violence tends to leave evidence. I know of your hatred toward him, so I am asking you to bring a handgun with you. They will not think to check you."

"Very well, I shall bring it! But it will be me who kills him, and not you!" His wife let out an audible gasp. "Just tell me what disguise the fuckin' bastard will be wearing, and I'll shoot him full of holes!"

"Now, it wouldn't be very prudent for the president to pull out a gun and start shooting, would it? There is a much easier and safer way to do this, Danzo-sama. We will arrange to meet in one of the house's rooms and you will give the gun to me. Then you can sit back and watch while I do the dirty work. You get your satisfaction and I get my job done."

"Alright," he said. "I certainly don't want to let the public see me killing someone. Ino, go get me a drink—" he was talking to his wife— "meet me at the second-floor bedroom across from the stairs fifteen minutes after my speech. I'll be able to get away by then and I'll give you the gun there."

How ironic. It is the same room the message told me to go to. But at least now I will not have to exit the room after I kill him.

"Very well."

--

I arrived at Los Angeles at 7 p.m., with exactly one day to spare until the party. Sure enough, the red Mustang was waiting in the designated parking space. I noticed the space next to it was empty; Kisaki must have taken the car, whatever kind it was. She might try to follow Danzo tomorrow when he goes into the house; I'd have to devise some way to keep her busy, or at least keep her from noticing where Danzo's gone. That shouldn't be too difficult.

After I checked in at the hotel, I drove to Senator Raymond's house. It's a pretty impressive house: three stories tall, with a circular driveway in front and garden in back, which was where the party will be held. The property was surrounded by a metal fence, and two guards were stationed at the front. The fence was not easy to climb, and security cameras watched most of the grounds. Everything I do tomorrow would be recorded on film, which means I'd have to be extra careful. The tapes would be examined by police after Danzo's death, and they might be able to figure out who I am if I make any mistakes. Then again, I didn't want to look too careful, or I'd still be suspected. I would just have to act as normal as possible.

Just as I was sitting in the car on the street in front of the house, pondering possible escape routes, another car pulled up behind me. A boy, about seventeen years old, got out from the driver's side, and a girl about the same age got out from the passenger side. I recognized the girl as the senator's daughter. She might provide some information about the house. I watched them in the rearview mirror and rolled down the window to hear what they were saying.

"Thanks so much for the ride, Phillip," the girl said. "I just wish Dad wasn't so strict about guys. Then I can actually let you inside the gate."

"Yeah, I know." Phillip hugged the girl. "Keep persuading him, maybe he'll crack someday."

"I doubt it. But you know, I _can_ trick the guard into not watching the security camera feeds for a while. I'll show him a soccer game or something. You can get in during that time, and I'll just cut that part off the tapes afterward." Her face lit up at the prospect of him getting inside. "Then we can be together at night!"

"Aren't there cameras inside the house, though? You can't trick all the guards, can you?"

"There aren't any cameras inside the house except for around the safe. It'll be perfect! You can get in during the evening, and get out at around two in the morning; that's when the guard always goes to sleep. We really can do this!"

"Sounds great," Phillip said. "Except, you know, if someone besides the camera sees me. What am I gonna do then?"

"Oh, don't you know how to hide? Just hide somewhere when someone comes. No one walks around at night anyway. Let's do this after Dad's birthday party, though, when there aren't so many people around."

"Alright." They kissed for at least two minutes, then the girl ran up to the gate. Phillip got back inside his car and drove away.

I rolled my window back up. So there weren't any cameras inside the house. Well, around the safe, but it was not like I was going to steal anything. This made everything much easier.

The problem remained with the escape route. And not just with the route itself, either, but with the entire escape. If I escaped, and the cameras had my image on tape, and the police couldn't find me afterwards… well, my face would probably be on television all around the world by the end of tomorrow night as the #1 suspect. But if I stayed for the investigation, they would question me about where I came from, what did I do, why did I have an invitation (it came with the assassination request letter) since I wasn't even related to the senator in any way, and etc. My cover story might not stand up to the close examination. Better to escape and hope the cameras didn't get a clear image of me.

What am I thinking? I couldn't _hope_. I have to make sure they don't get an image of me at all. But what about the people there? Some would remember me. How could I keep them from recalling my face, even if I could somehow erase my presence from the tapes? The president's murder would be international news; the FBI would probably question all who attended the party to death. They would coax out a picture of my face somehow if I wasn't there.

I closed my eyes for a moment. I needed to get all this straightened out in my head, and find the best way to escape. When I opened my eyes again, I saw, in the rearview mirror, a black Mercedes pull in behind me. Someone with silver hair was in the driver's seat. Kisaki. Of course, she would be there tomorrow also. Her cover story wouldn't hold up to close scrutiny either, since she can't prove she's related to the senator in any way. But if I pretended we went to the party together… I'd have an alibi, if the FBI will believe it. I could say we were invited by one of the senators I know, and he'd back me up. I'd have to call him, but that was easy. The hard part would be getting Kisaki to cooperate. What if she hated me so much that she wouldn't cover for me? And if she followed Danzo into the house, then neither of us would have an alibi. Whatever I devise to keep her busy would have to do so for a _long_ time.

All this went on in my mind while Kisaki got out of her car. She'd had her hair done, I noticed—it was now in elaborate curls, gathered in a messy bun on top of her head. She carried a handbag in which I presumed had some spy gear—a button camera, maybe, binoculars, perhaps some listening devices. I didn't know what her purpose is for coming here, but like at Tim Agor's house, she marched straight up to the gate. She talked to the guards for a minute, then came back to her car with a slight frown. I guessed that she was pretending to be a reporter and tried to gain access to the house, but was denied. As she was walking back, she noticed my Mustang. Even though it was now eight thirty, she still somehow made out that it was me in the driver's seat and marched straight over. Great.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"Doing exactly what you tried to do, except I think with a tad more success."

"I won't let you finish the job, Uchiha." Her eyes glared cold fire. "I will not allow you to defeat me a second time."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? I somehow have the impression that I am already closer to finishing this job than you are."

"You're wrong, then." She haughtily turned away and went back to her car. Thirty seconds later, she had her car started and drove straight into the back of my car. Our cars were so close together that the impact did not leave much damage (as far as I can see), but the message was clear. Then she zoomed past my car without looking back.

I chuckled to myself. She certainly was interesting sometimes.

--

At 6 p.m. of the next day, I put on my suit and entered my car. I sat on the seat without starting the car, eyes closed and not thinking about anything. After ten minutes, I was ready. I started the engine and backed out of the parking space. Then I began the drive to the senator's house.

It was time. The President of the United States would be assassinated tonight—without fail.

And so, I plunged into what would later prove to be the bitterest and most dangerous mistake of my life.

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A/N: hehehe little dramatic ending there for ya. I named this chapter Silence before the Storm cuz I felt it was pretty close to the 'storm,' but it really is just the lead into it. So if you see another chappie later named 'Silence before the Storm II' don't be surprised. It'll be just my uncreative nature at work.

Right now I'm really not sure how many chapters this story is going to be, but I've got (finally) most of the story carefully mapped out. It's the first time I've done that and it felt kinda weird. I really thought this was a pretty straightforward story when I started it, but now that I look at my plotline it actually seems really complicated. well I guess that means I'm improving. Don't worry, Itachi and Kisaki will warm up to each other sooner or later XD

Review! _Review!_ REVIEW! _REVIEW!_


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